Water colours - Bako

Not too far from the city of Kuching on Malaysian Borneo, situated on a peninsula, is Bako National Park. The only way to reach it, is per boat, and so we did. First we took a bus to Kampung Bako (about an hour and a half), where we chartered a boat for the last few miles.

Local  fisherman

In a teeny tiny boat we went. First out of the village, past the houses and then on to open water, where we crossed paths with local fishermen going back with their nights catch.
We arrived at Bako NP beach at low tide. This meant we couldn't moor to the pier, but had to wade the last few meters.  Of course, the water was warm enough, and only the next day we discovered the HUGE jellyfish.

The arrival beach at Bako NP

At Bako you can spend the night in very basic rooms, and so we did. We spent 3 nights in the park, which gave us enough time to leisurely explore the park. There are a some well-marked trails in the park, and you are allowed to walk the trails independently. As a safety measure, when you go out on a hike you sign in and out at the central register. In this way, if you are away for far longer than estimated, help can be sent.

Start of our hike

We did one 4-hour circular hike. It started at see level, on a wooden boardwalk underneath the trees. Then a bit up over soft soil and then climbing rocks towards the panoramic vistas. Utterly sweaty we reached the plateau of the peninsula, formed by lava, with small springs and streams cutting into the black ripples. A bit further the ground was more sandy, even dune like. The environment gradually became greener, small trees appeared and it became more humid again.

At the plateau

Then down we went, to a small secluded beach. We stayed a while, swam, washed off the sweat off, and had a snack. Then up again, back to the trail. The last stretch was steep down again, climbing down over ladders and boulders until we reached the main path around the park headquarters, where we passed a drowned forest. 

The drowned forest

On this particular hike we didn't see a lot of large animals (we did on other hikes!) but were amazed at nature's diversity at such a small patch of land: Insects, plants, soil, even without the mammals, this was a really good hike!

Pitcher plant at the plateau